


Duties and Responsibilities

by NaeSpark



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-07
Updated: 2012-11-02
Packaged: 2017-11-09 08:37:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/453514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaeSpark/pseuds/NaeSpark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is the anniversary of Aang's death. Korra needs to clear her head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> naesnark.tumblr.com

  Air Temple Island's atmosphere was terribly heavy that day.

  As she made her way through the halls, the silence, usually inviting, was filled with unspoken mourning. The walls seemed darker than the Avatar had ever noticed them to be, barely reflecting the dim light coming from the windows.

  It was the anniversary of Aang's death.

  Katara had arrived the day before, and though her ability to keep her spirits up was flawless, Korra could see the sadness hidden in every wrinkle of her face. The way she missed him was so absolutely clear that it left a hole in young Avatar's throat each time she attempted a word of comfort.

  The old woman smiled, bringing her hand to hold Korra's face in a motherly manner.

  “It's alright, dear.” and she walked off to meet Tenzin.

  Korra felt responsible for everything. She felt the burden of the pain of those around her, those who loved the previous Avatar, those whom she loved as well. However, Aang had to pass so that she could be brought into this world, and sometimes it felt like the weight would crush her.

  The weight of Katara's and Tenzin's pain. The weight of a being the only one who could contact Aang, despite how much the people around her needed him.

  Her head throbbed painfully, causing her to close her eyes and rest her head in the soft fur that covered Naga's shoulder. The polar bear dog shifted her head to nuzzle her gently, blowing her warm breath to mess Korra's hair. She smiled.

  “We should take a walk.” she murmured “I don't think I can deal with this right now...” sighing softly, she climbed onto the saddle, unsure about where to wander.

  Republic City was also unusually quiet. The young woman paid little attention to the surrounding automobiles and bystanders, mechanically making her way to the city centre peninsula, ignoring the occasional bum that sifted the park.

  She'd never taken the time to properly explore the outspread of the park, but yet again she walked like a robot. Far off on the East end, the environment changed. Only when engraved stone plates on the grass filled the landscape, did she realise she was at the cemetery. There was nobody in sight, except for a dark figure in the horizon. She mindlessly approached it.

  It revealed itself to be a woman in her fifties, strong and built under the creases of her jacket. Her expression, strict by principle, was unusually softened.

  Lin was smiling gently, but her eyes were clouded. She seemingly spoke to herself in a low tone, murmuring. The Avatar came closer, able to listen to a fragment.

  “...it was rather terrifying, Mother. I'm afraid I'm not quite as strong as you intended me to be.” she chuckled softly “I willingly followed your footsteps, but I was still restless as my bending was taken away. It was...” she straightened herself suddenly, as if she had become aware of something she shouldn't have missed “Korra, what on _earth_ are you doing here?”

  The young woman nearly jumped at the sudden harsh tone. She realised, in a bolt, that she had been listening to a private one-sided conversation between Lin and Toph Beifong.

  “I... I'm sorry.” she couldn't quite find the words to apologise for what she had just done, to fix the privacy she had just shattered “I don't even know how I got here I just... the Air Temple was so heavy because of Aang and I-”

  Lin raised an eyebrow and sighed, eying her cautiously. “You have a lot on your shoulders, today, Avatar.” she slid her hands inside her pockets “Come with me.”

  She obeyed without much thought, to see the older woman kneel and touch the grave gently with the tips of her fingers, before rising and leading Korra to a long bench, where they sat in silence.

  Korra leaned backward on the back of the bench, holding one hand and the other and stroking her thumbs nervously. Lin stared at the park before her before breaking the silence.

  “The day Aang died was the day you were born.” the youngest blinked in surprise, following that reaction with a small nod. Lin turned her head to her and smiled gently “But that doesn't make it your fault.”

  “Katara is suffering.” the other whispered “She's like a grandmother to me and she's suffering because I was born.”

  “She is suffering because her husband died.”

  “He died so I could be born.” her voice pitched lightly.

  “He died because it was his time.” Lin tilted her head slowly to look at the young Avatar “Believe me, death has nothing to do with those who are left behind.”

  Korra's eyes widened, recalling the scene she had interrupted moments before. “Oh.” she bit her lower lip and looked downwards.

  They remained in silence, for a moment, before Korra began to come closer and broke it.

  “Would you like to talk?”

  “I thought we were already talking.” Lin's tone was wary.

  “Well yes, I mean, ugh...” she swallowed drily “I saw you. With... with Toph.”

  “I am aware.” the other crossed her arms “I don't see how that is any of your business.”

  “It kinda is, because I'm your Avatar too.” she spilled.

  Lin cackled softly “Well that is a poor excuse to meddle in my affairs.”

  “You... you lost your bending, I know how that feels like.”

  The older woman clenched her teeth for a second, before laying back with her arms still crossed and a softer expression. “It is not the bending itself.”

  “It never is.” Korra admitted “It the things we associate it with... the people who depend on us, our responsibilities.”

  The former chief of police acknowledged it with a small hint of sadness in her eyes. “My bending was the last thing that connected me to my mother.” It felt as if a weight had just left Lin. She sighed deeply, bringing herself to talk with her peculiar confidant. “I don't regret the decision of sacrificing my bending the slightest. I did my best to protect Tenzin's family and our city. It was my duty and I know I served it well.” she straightened herself “But...” her spirits dropped “My mother taught me everything. And I was found lacking everything again.”

  “You felt helpless.” the youngest remarked gently.

  “Alone.” she stated.

  “I'm sorry.”

  “Don't be.”

  Silence had become a part of their conversations for the most part. None of them was bothered by it, but one of them would eventually break it off.

  Korra's hand slid to meet her mentor's, holding it in a bland, though firm, manner.

  “My bending is back, Korra. And that is something I can thank you for.” she exhaled “You saved my city. You can never imagine how much that meant to me.”

  “It was my duty.” she grinned smoothly “Someone taught me how important that is.”

  The metalbender found herself looking deeply into uncorrupted blue eyes, deep as the ocean floor, but light as a fluttering breeze. There was a hint of fiery determination in her gaze, and an earthly wisdom brought by responsibilities and experience. The eyes of the Avatar were unmistakeable.

  And they were hers alone.

  As if Lin were nothing but a piece of metal, Korra pulled her towards her with those eyes. Her feelings were a mix of respect, care, and possibly something else that she refused to admit but still magnetised her towards the young woman in front of her.

  It was only when their lips set upon each other, fused metal against burning fire, did her mind go blank and her reasoning dull.

  Korra found comfort and passion in the metalbender's lips, feeling a strong hand in the back of her head pressing her closer.  
None of them could think, much too involved in each other's depths and tangling breaths.

  When the kiss was broken, they eyed each other in surprise and Lin carefully slid her hands off of Korra.

The sun was just about to set.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After that unexpected kiss, Korra and Lin need to a have a serious conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> naesnark.tumblr.com

  The ability to so easily ruin a perfectly fine conversation, along with a friendship based on mutual respect and admiration, was something she was not used to.

  But that had happened the previous week, and Lin should have been over it at the current time. She was, in fact, not.

  The cup of coffee in her hand was terrifyingly hot, to the point of stinging the skin of her palm, but she chose not to pay attention to it. Massaging her temple in circles, she sighed deeply.

  Something had to be terribly wrong with her mind.

  She had  _kissed_ the Avatar. And rather passionately, as well. Truthfully, the most frightening part of that had to be the fact that she had wanted to kiss that same Avatar for a horrifyingly long amount of time.

  Her doorbell's ringing made her wake from her thoughts, causing her to stand up and answer the door with a groan. Lin's eyes nearly fled from their sockets at the sight before her.

  “Korra, what are you doing here?!” she felt herself tense, facing the young woman.

  “I think we need to talk.”

  Lin was not ready to deal with it yet. “As long as your lips remain where they belong.” she muttered, letting her in.

  “That is one of the things I wanted to talk about.” the young Avatar smiled weakly, in a mixture of embarrassment and defiance.

  The older woman sat across the other, in her sofa, expecting her to start the conversation. For the most part, it was because she did not want to start the conversation herself, afraid of losing her composure.

  “You kissed me.”

  “I believe correct expression would be 'we kissed each other'.” Lin remarked dryly.

  “You have a problem with it.”

  “A few.”

  “Spill it” Korra sat back, her expression torn between agony and curiosity, with somewhat of a hint of confidence.

  “You have a boyfriend.” she started.

  “I broke up with Mako two weeks ago.” the youngest interrupted.

  Lin was left lacking one argument against the whole situation. That was not what she intended. “You never told me about that.”

  “You never asked.” the other shrugged.

  Lin coughed. “Very well.” she gave Korra a stern look “But I am a woman who happens to be thirty-three years older than you are.”

  “I already knew that, Lin.”

  “You see my point here, then.” the former chief of police seemed slightly relieved.

  “No, I don't.”

  Lin groaned loudly. She should've seen that coming. The newest Avatar was made of fire and determination encased in a human veil. The metalbender knew there was little point in arguing with her.

  “I know you have been through a lot, but this... this can't possibly be right.”

  “I'm an adult, Lin.”

  “And I am an old woman!”

  “That's not exactly the message you pride yourself in sending to everyone out there in the city.”

  Lin uttered yet another groan.

  “Listen, Avata-”

  Lin's wording was fiercely cut short by a young woman vehemently making her point by using her own lips to do something other than speaking.

  The former chief of police pulled back, leaving a very flustered Korra eying her with a pout.

  “This will be painful for, at least, one of us.” the older woman remarked, between pants.

  “I'm too hardheaded to walk away that easily.”

  “Are you? You left Mako.”

  “Because I fell in love with _you_.”

  Lin's heart skipped a beat, but she recovered quickly. “You didn't love Mako?”

  “Denial is a beautiful thing.”

  “So is sarcasm.”

  “So are you.”

  The metalbender rubbed her temples thoughtfully, sighing. “This is likely not to end well.” Lin let herself fall back on her chair. “Why did you date Mako in the first place?”

  “I don't even know.” Korra bit her lower lip “ And then a lot of things happened and I barely had time to think anything at all.”

  There was no use in dwelling deeper into the subject. Lin got up, heading for the kitchen and returning a few minutes after with two cups of hot coffee. Handing one to Korra, she sat in silence.

  “I'm not a child.” the Avatar held the cup between her palms, staring intently at the liquid.

  “I am aware of that.”

  “And I know it's mutual.” her eyes shifted to the other woman.

  The former chief of police furrowed her eyebrows, sipping on her drink. “It's not that simple.”

  “Tenzin told me that things never end up being simple.” she lifted her eyes to the other “But that doesn't mean we can't make them happen.”

  “You're the Avatar. I'm supposed to protect you. This can't happen.”

  “Well, the Avatar is supposed to protect everybody. Does that mean I have to be alone?”

  “If this evolves, you _will_ be alone in a few years. I'm not getting any younger.”

  “So I have to choose between being alone now or in the future?” she frowned “Because, if I stay alone now, I'll be lonely even longer!”

  “You make it sound like there's no one else in this world. Someone more appropriate for you.”

  “I think I can perfectly tell who's appropriate or not.”

  “Yes, you're proving a terrific point by falling in love with a woman three times your age. You're not even thinking about the future!”

  “Oh, so the fact that you're fifty implies I can't think about having a family with you?”

  The following silence felt nearly as crushing as being bloodbent. Their eyes met for a long time, mouths hanging open without the release of the tiniest of whispers.

  Lin let herself fall on her chair, caught off-guard by the young Avatar's choice of wording.

  “A family?”

  “A family.” there was insecurity in Korra's voice, but no hint of doubt. She was dead serious and, not only Lin knew it, she craved for it.

  They remained silent.

  “This can't be an impass.” Lin said, sighing once more and closing her eyes. Her emotions were conflicting. One could only stand so much heartbreak and she was sure she had had enough of that for a lifetime. Korra was young, fiery, and with raging hormones that frightened Lin from a romantic standpoint.

  “Just say yes before I go insane...” whispered Korra. “I'm tired of being everyone's Avatar. I'm everyone's hopes and expectations...” she leaned forward to almost kneel in front of the older woman “I just want something of my own... and, for some reason, I think I've chosen you.”

  Lin's grip on her own emotions was loosening, her eyelashes fluttering at the sudden increase of moisture. She clenched her teeth.

  Korra was startled by Lin's groan, before feeling her strong hands around her face pulling her up to a crushing kiss.

  Panting, they explored each other's lips with cautious passion, finally giving in and shifting their positions to lay comfortably on the sofa.

  There was a pleading expression in the metalbender's face, a burning hope that it would last forever, that she could lose herself in that safety.

  For once, Lin wanted to feel vulnerable.

  The Avatar traced her jawline with kisses, inhaling her scent deeply. Her hands met no resistance when she undid the buttons of the other's shirt, her lips meeting her collarbones and her ears meeting the sweet sound of Lin's long and heavy breaths.

  For the next few moments, the world fell completely silent, with the exception of their synchronized irregular breaths and the sounds of shifting fabric and removed clothing.

  Korra's skin was warm to the touch, soft and tanned, making Lin sigh pleasantly as she ran her hands up and down her sides.

  The young woman giggled softly on a regular basis, pecking Lin's face and neck repeatedly, before settling on her lips.

  Their hands moved lower, experiencing different textures and different moistures, hoarse moans filling their ears as they touched each other, carefully at first, and with increasing need as they proceeded.

  Their bodies intertwined, thighs brushing on thighs and breasts pressing against breasts, in a rhythmical display of mutual desire.

  Climax came as a bursting amount of different feelings, causing them to hold each other even tighter and whispering each other's names before collapsing on top of each other.

  They spent the next minutes in silence, brushing strands of hair from their faces and smiling softly.

  Korra kissed the the older woman's nose.

  “I'll take that as a yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy hell, I’m so sorry for the lateness of this. What the hell is smut and why am I unable to properly write it.


End file.
